Resolution enhancer for electronic visual displays

ABSTRACT

A method of enhancing a visual image of a display is described. The visual image is displayed on a first display of a display device having a first display pixel density and a first display dimension. The display device detects an enhancer device oriented in an operable position to the display device. The enhancer display device has a second display having a second display pixel density higher than the first display pixel density and a second display dimension less than the first display dimension. A spatial orientation is determined between the first display of the display device with the second display of the enhancer display device. The display device sends the visual image and the spatial orientation to the enhancer display device to display a portion of the visual image that is defined by the spatial orientation on the second display in the second display pixel density.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to electronic visual displays, and morespecifically, to a resolution enhancer system for electronic visualdisplays.

Electronic visual displays have become ubiquitous. Electronic visualdisplays perform temporary, video displays for presentation of imagestransmitted electronically. Electronic visual displays are used intelevisions, computer monitors, tablet computers, cell phones, digitalsigns and touch tables, for example. The types of electronic visualdisplays may include cathode ray tubes, liquid crystal displays (LCDs),plasma, and light projection technologies. Another feature of electronicvisual displays that has become ubiquitous is the ability for a user tointeract directly with the visual display by touching it with a fingeror object to expand, shrink, move, and perform commands with touch onthe visual display.

SUMMARY

According to embodiments of the present disclosure a method of enhancingan electronic visual image of a display is described. The electronicvisual image is displayed on a first display of a first display devicehaving a first display pixel density and a first display dimension. Thefirst display detects an enhancer display device oriented in an operableposition to the first display device. The enhancer display device has asecond display having a second display pixel density higher than thefirst display pixel density and a second display dimension less than thefirst display dimension. The first display device determines a spatialorientation between the first display of the first display device withthe second display of the enhancer display device. The first displaysends the electronic visual image and the spatial orientation to theenhancer display device to display a portion of the electronic visualimage that is defined by the spatial orientation on the second displayin the second display pixel density.

According to various embodiments, a method of enhancing an electronicvisual image of a first display and an enhancer device doing the same isdescribed. The method includes an enhancer display device receiving aspatial orientation of a first display of a first display device to asecond display of the enhancer display device, when the enhancer displaydevice is in a operable position with the first display device. Thefirst display device has a first display pixel density and a firstdisplay dimension. The second display has a second display pixel densityhigher than the first display pixel density and a second displaydimension less than the first display dimension. The enhancer displaydevice receives an electronic visual image viewed on the first display.The enhancer display device determines a portion of the electronicvisual image to be displayed on the second display of the enhancerdisplay device. The portion is defined by the spatial orientation of thesecond display to the first display. The enhancer device displays on thesecond display of the enhancer display device the portion of theelectronic visual image of the first display device determined by theenhancer display device.

The above summary is not intended to describe each illustratedembodiment or every implementation of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The drawings included in the present application are incorporated into,and form part of, the specification. They illustrate embodiments of thepresent disclosure and, along with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the disclosure. The drawings are only illustrative ofcertain embodiments and do not limit the disclosure.

FIG. 1 depicts components of a resolution enhancer system for electronicvisual displays, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 2A depicts a side view of a low pixel density first display deviceand an enhancer display device having contact points acting as aresolution enhancer for the first display device with contact points,according to various embodiments.

FIG. 2B depicts a side view of the resolution enhancer having thecontact points, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 3 depicts a flowchart of a method of resolution enhancement of anelectronic visual image displayed on a display of the first displaydevice, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 4 depicts a flowchart of a method performed by the enhancer displaydevice of resolution enhancement of an electronic visual image displayeda first display device, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 5 depicts a high-level block diagram representation of the firstdisplay device, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 6 depicts a high-level block diagram representation of the enhancerdisplay device, according to an embodiment.

While the embodiments are amenable to various modifications andalternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of examplein the drawings and will be described in detail. It should beunderstood, however, that the intention is not to limit the invention tothe particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention isto cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling withinthe spirit and scope of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to electronic visual displays,more particular aspects relate to a resolution enhancer system ofelectronic visual displays. While the present disclosure is notnecessarily limited to such applications, various aspects of thedisclosure may be appreciated through a discussion of various examplesusing this context.

Embodiments herein provide for a resolution enhancement system forelectronic visual displays. The resolution enhancement system mayinclude a first display device having a display with a low pixeldensity. The display of the first display device may be very large indimensions which may result in the low resolution quality. Theresolution enhancement system may also include an enhancer displaydevice with a high pixel density display that may be higher than that ofthe first display device. The enhancer display device may be smaller indimensions than the first display device. The smaller dimension maycontribute to the higher resolution display. The first display deviceand enhancer display device may be configured and communicatively linkedso that when the enhancer display device is placed over an area of thedisplay of the first display device, the enhancer display devicedisplays the image from the first display that is directly beneath it inits higher pixel density display. The enhancer display device magnifiesor enhances part of the low resolution image that is of interest to auser while leaving the remainder of the display of the first displaydevice visible. The enhancer display device may be moved around thedisplay of the first display device enhancing the portion of the visualdisplay beneath in real time. The enhancer display device may receiveinput events from a user that may control the display of the firstdisplay device.

In an example, touch tables may have a planar surface that acts both asa display and as an input device. Touch tables are often used tovisualize and interact with big data sets, for example, geographicalmap, satellite photographs, or molecular representations. Touch tablesmay be in large dimensions, e.g., 1 m×2 m, but spatial resolution of thedisplay may be sacrificed, both for complexity and cost reasons. Forexample, when a 160×90 cm table is driven by standard HDTV resolution(1920×1080), the resulting pixel-per-inch display quality is about 30ppi (1920/(160/2.54)). Maps on traditional paper may have much betterresolution (common laser printers have 300, 600 or 1200 ppi). Whereas tomeet 300 ppi on that same screen would require a 19200×10800 pixeldisplay; and the cost increase would be large (100× pixels, 100×computing power to draw them).

Thus, high spatial resolution of large dimension displays inevitablyleads to higher costs. The touch tables may have a general view of adataset and when one focuses one's attention to a specific zone,software generally provides a way to zoom in and out (e.g., by pinchingthe screen with one's fingers or other similar control gestures).However, the need to continuously zoom may be time consuming, and, as anentire display is adjusted, one may lose the “big-picture view” whenfocusing in on details or get lost in such details. With theseconsiderations, enhanced resolution may only be needed, or be mostbeneficial, in a part of the display where the user is directing theirattention. Embodiments herein may provide for a resolution enhancementsystem and method to view portions of a large, low pixel density displayin a higher display resolution. Embodiments herein may also provide anenhancer display device with the capacity to receive input events at theenhancer display device (e.g., such as by using gestures as would havebeen used on a screen of the first display device) and controlling thedisplay of the first display device as if the gestures received on theenhancer display device had been received directly to the correspondingportion of the display/touch screen of the first display device.

FIG. 1 depicts a resolution enhancement system 100, according to variousembodiments. The resolution enhancement system 100 may include a firstdisplay device 105 and an enhancer display device 110. The first displaydevice 105 may have a first display 115 and the enhancer display device110 may have a second display 120. The first display 115 may have afirst display pixel density. The second display 120 may have a seconddisplay pixel density that is higher than the first display pixeldensity.

The first display device 105 may project the visual display of acomputer program product on the first display 115, or any otherapplication that produces an electronic visual display. In FIG. 1, thefirst display device 105 may display an electronic visual image “Abcde”in the first display pixel density on the first display 115. Theenhancer display device 110 may overlap/obstruct the first display 115of the first display device 105. The first display device 105 may beable to detect when an enhancer display device 110 is in a positionrelative to the first display device 105 to relay a portion of the firstdisplay that is covered by the dimensions of the second display 120 tothe second display 120. This may be referred to herein as the enhancerdisplay device 110 being in an operable position to the first displaydevice 105. FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B illustrates various embodiments ofdetecting the operable position of the enhancer display device 110 withthe first display device 105.

When the enhancer display device 110 is in operable position with thefirst display device 105, the first display device 105 may be able todetermine the spatial orientation between the first display device 105and the enhancer display device 110. For instance, the first displaydevice 105 may detect a rotational orientation and a translationalposition of the enhancer display device 110 to the first display device105. If the enhancer display device 110 is rectangular in shape, thenthe edges of the enhancer display device may be angled such that theedges of the first display device 105 are not parallel to the edges ofthe enhancer display device 110. The first display device 105 maycommunicate this to the enhancer display device 110 so that the enhancerdisplay device 110 may adjust the second display 220 to rotate theelectronic visual image accordingly so the orientation of the electronicvisual image is not different on the second display 120 than what is onthe first display 115. As shown in FIG. 1, the enhancer display device110 may display in the second display part of the image “Abcde” that theenhancer display device 110 is over, which includes a portion of the“Ab”.

The first display device 105 and the enhancer display device 110 maycommunicate with each other through a data communication link. The datacommunication link may be a wireless data communication link such ascommunicating through WiFi, Bluetooth, and near-field-communications(NFC). In various embodiments, the first display device 105 maycommunicate with the enhancer display device 110 with a physical datacommunication link.

The first display device 105 may have or be in communication with aprocessor that may perform functions of a central display module storedin a memory. The central display module is further described in FIG. 5below. In various embodiments, the central display module may detect theenhancer display device 110 to be in an operable position, such as witha physical signature of the enhancer display device 110 on the firstdisplay 115 (explained further in FIGS. 2A and 2B) or laser device. Invarious embodiments, the central display module may also estimate thespatial orientation of the enhancer display device 110 such as positionand rotation of the enhancer display device 110. In various embodiments,the central display module may send spatial orientation data to thefirst display device 105 through the data communication link. In variousembodiments, the central display module may send an electronic visualimage to the enhancer display device 110. In various embodiments, thecentral display module may receive input events from the enhancerdisplay device 110 through the data communication link and perform themas if they were performed on the first display device.

The enhancer display device 110 may have or be in communication with aprocessor that may perform one or more functions of an enhancer displaymodule. The enhancer display module is further described in FIG. 6below. In various embodiments, the enhancer display module may receivespatial orientation information through the data communication link fromthe first display device 105 and use the spatial orientation informationto adjust the view of the electronic visual image. In other embodiments,the enhancer display module may receive an adjusted electronic visualimage from the first display device. The central display module mayperform the adjustment of the portion of the electronic visual image tobe displayed on the second display 120. The enhancer display module mayalso send any input events, such as gestures, detected through the datacommunication link to the first display device 105, which the firstdisplay device 105 may use to adjust the image or user interface. Thismay allow the user to use the enhancer device the same as if it was thelarge display.

In operation, the first display device may be running an applicationthat produces an electronic visual image on the first display 115 of thefirst display device 105. The electronic visual image may have the firstpixel density. The enhancer display device 110 may be placed over or inan operable position to an area of interest of the first display 115.The first display device 105 may detect that the enhancer display device110 is in an operable position and establish a data communication linkwith the enhancer display device 110. In various embodiments, a datacommunication link may already be established. In various embodiments,the enhancer display device 110 may detect when the first display device105 is in operable position.

When the enhancer display device 110 is in operable position with thefirst display device 105, the first display device may detect thespatial orientation of the second display 120 of the enhancer displaydevice 110 in relation to the first display 115. The first displaydevice 105 may send over the data communication link the spatialorientation and electronic visual image. The enhancer display device 110may use the spatial orientation information to adjust the view of theimage to match the orientation of the image on the first display 120.The enhancer display device may be able to receive input events and sendthem to the first display device 105 over the data communication link.The first display device 105 may be able to operate on the input eventsfrom the enhancer 110 as if they were locally performed on the firstdisplay device 105.

FIG. 2A depicts a side view of the first display device 105 and theenhancer display device 110 in contact with the first display device 105for spatial orientation detection, according to various embodiments. Forthe first display device 105 to detect the spatial orientation of theenhancer display device 110, the enhancer display device 110 may have aplurality of contact points, such as contact points 205 a, 205 b, 205 c,and 205 d (referred to generally herein as contact points 205), thatcome in contact with the first display 115. In various embodiments, thecentral display module and first display 115 may be configured torecognize the contact points 205 as a unique signature of the enhancerdisplay device 110. In various embodiments, the central display modulemay be configured to distinguish the contact points 205 from otherinputs to the first display 115 such as a user's finger, a stylist, orother tool to create inputs on the first display 115. In variousembodiments, the contact points 205 when in contact with the firstdisplay may also indicate that the enhancer display device 110 is in theoperable position. In various embodiments, the first display device 105and enhancer display device 110 being in operable position may triggerthe data communication link to be established.

In various embodiments, the central display module may be configured todetermine the spatial orientation such as the translation position androtational orientation by analyzing the signature of the contact points205. The contact points 205 may be in a specific geometric dispositionto aid the central display module in determining the spatialorientation. For example, there may be four contact points 205 on thesecond display 110 as shown in FIG. 2B and the contact points 205 may bein trapezoidal orientation so that central display module may be able todistinguish between the contact points 205. After the central displaymodule has determined the spatial orientation of the enhancer displaydevice 110, then it may send the spatial orientation data to theenhancer display device 110 through the data communication link. Theenhancer display device 110 may then update the second display 120 toadjust the view of the electronic visual image to be that of the portionof the visual image covered by the second display 120 over the firstdisplay 110. This may be done in real-time so that visual electronicimages of both the first display 115 and the second display 120 areproviding the same images. In other various embodiments, more than oneenhancer display device 110 may be used to enhance the resolution of thefirst display 115.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a method 300 of resolution enhancementof an electronic visual image displayed on a display, according tovarious embodiments. In operation 305, a first display device maydisplay an electronic visual image on a first display of the firstdisplay device. The first display device may have a first display pixeldensity and a first display dimension. In operation 310, the firstdisplay device may determine whether an enhancer display device isorientated in an operable position to the first display device. Theenhancer display device may have a second display. The second displaymay have a second display pixel density and a second display dimension.The second display pixel density may be higher than the first displaypixel density and the second display dimension may be smaller than thefirst display dimension. If an enhancer display device is not inoperable position, then the first display device may continue to monitorwhether there is an enhancer display device in operable position. Ifthere is an enhancer display device in operable position with the firstdisplay device, then the method may continue with operation 315.

In operation 315, the first display device may determine the spatialorientation of the enhancer display device to the first display. Thespatial orientation may include the translational position and therotational position of the enhancer display device to the first display.In operation 320, the first display device may send the electronicvisual image and the spatial orientation to the enhancer display device.The enhancer display device may use this information to display aportion of the electronic visual image defined by the spatialorientation on the second display in the higher second display pixeldensity.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method 400 performed by an enhancerdisplay device of enhancing the display resolution of an electronicvisual image produced on a first display device having a low pixeldensity, according to various embodiments. In operation 405, theenhancer display device may determine when it is in operable positionwith the first display device. The first display device may have a firstdisplay with a first display pixel density and a first displaydimension. The enhancer display device may have a second display with asecond display pixel density and a second display dimension. The seconddisplay pixel density may be higher than the first display pixeldensity. The second display dimension may be smaller than the firstdisplay dimension. If the enhancer display device is not in operableposition with the first display device, then the enhancer display devicemay continue to monitor until it is in operable position. If theenhancer display device is in operable position with the first displaydevice, then the method 400 may continue to operation 410.

In operation 410, the enhancer display device may receive a spatialorientation of the second display in relation to the first display. Invarious embodiments, the spatial orientation may include thetranslational position and the rotational position. In operation 415,the enhancer display device may receive an electronic visual image thatis displayed on the first display. In operation 420, based on thespatial orientation and the received electronic visual image, theenhancer display device may determine a portion of the electronic visualimage defined by the spatial orientation. In operation 425, the enhancerdisplay device may display the portion of the electronic visual image onthe second display in the second display pixel density. In operation430, the enhancer display device may determine whether the enhancerdisplay device is in operable position with the first display device. Ifthe enhancer display device is in operable position, then the method 400may return to operation 410. If the enhancer display device is not inoperable position, then the method 400 may end.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 5 depicts a high-level block diagramrepresentation of a first display device 105, according to anembodiment. The major components of the first display device 105 mayinclude one or more processors 506, a main memory 508, a terminalinterface 510, a storage interface 512, an I/O (Input/Output) deviceinterface 514, and a network interface 516, all of which may becommunicatively coupled, directly or indirectly, for inter-componentcommunication via a memory bus 518, an I/O bus 520, and an I/O businterface unit 522.

The first display device 105 may contain one or more general-purposeprogrammable central processing units (CPUs) 506A, 506B, 506C, and 506D,herein generically referred to as the processor 506. In an embodiment,the first display device 105 may contain multiple processors typical ofa relatively large system; however, in another embodiment the firstdisplay device 105 may alternatively be a single CPU system. Eachprocessor 506 may execute instructions stored in the main memory 508 andmay include one or more levels of on-board cache.

In an embodiment, the main memory 508 may include a random-accesssemiconductor memory, storage device, or storage medium (either volatileor non-volatile) for storing or encoding data and programs. In anotherembodiment, the main memory 508 may represent the entire virtual memoryof the first display device 105, and may also include the virtual memoryof other devices coupled to first display device 105 or connected viathe network 545. The main memory 508 may be conceptually a singlemonolithic entity, but in other embodiments the main memory 508 may be amore complex arrangement, such as a hierarchy of caches and other memorydevices.

The main memory 508 may store or encode a central display module 530 andapplication electronic visual images 532. Although central displaymodule 530 and application electronic visual images 532 are illustratedas being contained within the memory 508 in the first display device105, in other embodiments the central display module 530 and applicationelectronic visual images 532 may be on different computer systems andmay be accessed remotely, e.g., via the network 545. The first displaydevice 105 may use virtual addressing mechanisms that allow the programsof the first display device 105 to behave as if they only have access toa large, single storage entity instead of access to multiple, smallerstorage entities. Thus, while central display module 530 and applicationelectronic visual images 532 are illustrated as being contained withinthe main memory 508, this element is not necessarily completelycontained in the same storage device at the same time.

In an embodiment, wireless device network interface instructions 530 mayinclude instructions or statements that execute on the processor 506 orinstructions or statements that may be interpreted by instructions orstatements that execute on the processor 506, to carry out the functionsas further described above with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 3. Inanother embodiment, central display module 530 and applicationelectronic visual images 532 may be implemented in hardware viasemiconductor devices, chips, logical gates, circuits, circuit cards,other physical hardware devices, or a combination of these devices inlieu of, or in addition to, a processor-based system. In an embodimentcentral display module 530 and application electronic visual images 532may include data in addition to instructions or statements.

The memory bus 518 may provide a data communication path fortransferring data among the processor 506, the main memory 508, and theI/O bus interface 522. The I/O bus interface 522 may be further coupledto the I/O bus 520 for transferring data to and from the various I/Ounits. The I/O bus interface unit 522 communicates with multiple I/Ointerface units 510, 512, 514, and 516, which may also be known as I/Oprocessors (IOPs) or I/O adapters (IOAs), through the I/O bus 520.

The I/O interface units support communication with a variety of storageand I/O devices. For example, the terminal interface unit 510 supportsthe attachment of one or more user I/O devices 524, which may includeuser output devices (such as a video display device, speaker, ortelevision set), e.g. first display 115, and user input devices (such asa keyboard, mouse, keypad, touchpad, trackball, buttons, light pen, orother pointing device). A user may manipulate the user input devicesutilizing a user interface, in order to provide input data and commandsto the user I/O device 524 and the computer system 500, and may receiveoutput data via the user output devices. For example, a user interfacemay be presented via the user I/O device 524, such as displayed on adisplay device, played via a speaker, or printed via a printer.

The storage interface 512 supports the attachment of one or more diskdrives or direct access storage devices 526 (which are typicallyrotating magnetic disk drive storage devices, although they couldalternatively be other storage devices, including arrays of disk drivesconfigured to appear as a single large storage device to a hostcomputer). In another embodiment, the storage device 526 may beimplemented via any type of secondary storage device. The contents ofthe main memory 508, or any portion thereof, may be stored to andretrieved from the storage device 526 as needed. The I/O deviceinterface 514 may provide an interface to any of various otherinput/output devices or devices of other types, such as printers or faxmachines. The network interface 516 may provide one or morecommunications paths from the first display device 105 to other digitaldevices, network nodes, and networks 545. The network interface 516 mayinclude a first wireless signal interface 550 and a second wirelesssignal interface 555. In an embodiment, the first wireless signalinterface 550 may provide service for a wireless local area network(WLAN). The first wireless signal interface 550 may support one or moreof various WLAN protocol standards. Such protocol standards may includethe IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, and/or IEEE 802.11nprotocol standards. The first wireless signal interface 550 may producea first wireless signal having a first range.

In an embodiment, the second wireless signal interface 555 may provideservice for a wireless personal area network (WPAN). A type of WPAN thesecond wireless signal interface 555 may support is a Bluetoothcommunication standard, the IEE 802.15 standard, or anothercommunication standard. The second wireless signal interface 555 mayproduce a second wireless signal having a second range.

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 6 depicts a high-level block diagramrepresentation of an enhancer display device 110, according to anembodiment. The major components of the enhancer display device 110 mayinclude one or more processors 606, a main memory 608, a terminalinterface 610, a storage interface 612, an I/O (Input/Output) deviceinterface 614, and a network interface 616, all of which may becommunicatively coupled, directly or indirectly, for inter-componentcommunication via a memory bus 618, an I/O bus 620, and an I/O businterface unit 622.

The enhancer display device 110 may contain one or more general-purposeprogrammable central processing units (CPUs) 606A, 606B, 606C, and 606D,herein generically referred to as the processor 606. In an embodiment,the enhancer display device 110 may contain multiple processors typicalof a relatively large system; however, in another embodiment theenhancer display device 110 may alternatively be a single CPU system.Each processor 606 may execute instructions stored in the main memory608 and may include one or more levels of on-board cache.

In an embodiment, the main memory 608 may include a random-accesssemiconductor memory, storage device, or storage medium (either volatileor non-volatile) for storing or encoding data and programs. In anotherembodiment, the main memory 608 may represent the entire virtual memoryof the enhancer display device 110, and may also include the virtualmemory of other devices coupled to enhancer display device 110 orconnected via the network 645. The main memory 608 may be conceptually asingle monolithic entity, but in other embodiments the main memory 608may be a more complex arrangement, such as a hierarchy of caches andother memory devices.

The main memory 608 may store or encode an enhancer display module 630.Although the enhancer display module 630 is illustrated as beingcontained within the memory 608 in the enhancer display device 110, inother embodiments the enhancer display module 630 may be on differentcomputer systems and may be accessed remotely, e.g., via the network645. The enhancer display device 110 may use virtual addressingmechanisms that allow the programs of the enhancer display device 110 tobehave as if they only have access to a large, single storage entityinstead of access to multiple, smaller storage entities. Thus, whileenhancer display module 630 are illustrated as being contained withinthe main memory 608, this element is not necessarily completelycontained in the same storage device at the same time.

In an embodiment, wireless device network interface instructions 630 mayinclude instructions or statements that execute on the processor 606 orinstructions or statements that may be interpreted by instructions orstatements that execute on the processor 606, to carry out the functionsas further described above with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 2A, FIG. 2B,and FIG. 4. In another embodiment, enhancer display module 630 may beimplemented in hardware via semiconductor devices, chips, logical gates,circuits, circuit cards, other physical hardware devices, or acombination of these devices in lieu of, or in addition to, aprocessor-based system. In an embodiment enhancer display module 630 mayinclude data in addition to instructions or statements.

The memory bus 618 may provide a data communication path fortransferring data among the processor 606, the main memory 608, and theI/O bus interface 622. The I/O bus interface 622 may be further coupledto the I/O bus 620 for transferring data to and from the various I/Ounits. The I/O bus interface unit 622 communicates with multiple I/Ointerface units 610, 612, 614, and 616, which may also be known as I/Oprocessors (IOPs) or I/O adapters (IOAs), through the I/O bus 620.

The I/O interface units support communication with a variety of storageand I/O devices. For example, the terminal interface unit 610 supportsthe attachment of one or more user I/O devices 624, which may includeuser output devices (such as a video display device, speaker, ortelevision set), e.g. second display 120 of FIG. 1, and user inputdevices (such as a keyboard, mouse, keypad, touchpad, trackball,buttons, light pen, or other pointing device). A user may manipulate theuser input devices utilizing a user interface, in order to provide inputdata and commands to the user I/O device 624 and the computer system600, and may receive output data via the user output devices. Forexample, a user interface may be presented via the user I/O device 624,such as displayed on a display device, played via a speaker, or printedvia a printer.

The storage interface 612 supports the attachment of one or more diskdrives or direct access storage devices 626 (which are typicallyrotating magnetic disk drive storage devices, although they couldalternatively be other storage devices, including arrays of disk drivesconfigured to appear as a single large storage device to a hostcomputer). In another embodiment, the storage device 626 may beimplemented via any type of secondary storage device. The contents ofthe main memory 608, or any portion thereof, may be stored to andretrieved from the storage device 626 as needed. The I/O deviceinterface 614 may provide an interface to any of various otherinput/output devices or devices of other types, such as printers or faxmachines. The network interface 616 may provide one or morecommunications paths from the enhancer display device 110 to otherdigital devices, network nodes, and networks 645. The network interface616 may include a first wireless signal interface 650 and a secondwireless signal interface 655. In an embodiment, the first wirelesssignal interface 650 may provide service for a wireless local areanetwork (WLAN). The first wireless signal interface 650 may support oneor more of various WLAN protocol standards. Such protocol standards mayinclude the IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, and/or IEEE802.11n protocol standards. The first wireless signal interface 650 mayproduce a first wireless signal having a first range.

In an embodiment, the second wireless signal interface 655 may provideservice for a wireless personal area network (WPAN). A type of WPAN thesecond wireless signal interface 655 may support is a Bluetoothcommunication standard, the IEE 802.15 standard, or anothercommunication standard. The second wireless signal interface 655 mayproduce a second wireless signal having a second range.

Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the present embodiments may be a system,a method, and/or a computer program product. The computer programproduct may include a computer readable storage medium (or media) havingcomputer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processorto carry out aspects of the present embodiments.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present embodiments may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present embodiments.

Aspects of the present embodiments are described herein with referenceto flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theembodiments. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present embodiments. In this regard, each block inthe flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, orportion of instructions, which comprises one or more executableinstructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). In somealternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occurout of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown insuccession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or theblocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending uponthe functionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present disclosurehave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of enhancing an electronic visual imageof a first display, comprising: displaying the electronic visual imageon the first display of a first display device having a first displaypixel density and a first display dimension; detecting an enhancerdisplay device overlying and oriented in an operable position to thefirst display device, the enhancer display device having a seconddisplay, a second display pixel density higher than the first displaypixel density, and a second display dimension less than the firstdisplay dimension; sending at least a portion of the electronic visualimage to the enhancer display device, wherein the enhancer displaydevice is capable of displaying at least a portion of the sentelectronic visual image on the second display in the second displaypixel density, based on a spatial orientation between the first displayand the second display, such that the displayed electronic visual imageon the enhancer display device corresponds to a portion of theelectronic visual image on the first display that is directly overlaidby the enhancer display device; receiving, at the first display device,an input event from the enhancer display device, and having occurred astouch input on the second display of the enhancer display device; andperforming a responsive action to the received input event to update theelectronic visual image on the first display, such that the touch inputoccurring on the second display is treated as touch input occurringdirectly on the corresponding portion of the first display.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein sending the electronic visual image isstreamed.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting aunique physical signature, in the form of a unique physical structure,of the enhancer display device in contact with the first display of thefirst display device, wherein the unique physical signature identifiesthe enhancer display device to the first display device and indicatesthat the enhancer display device is in an operable position relative tothe first display device.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the uniquephysical signature is made up of contact points having a specificgeometric disposition.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein detecting theunique physical signature comprises the first display, operating as atouch screen, registering the separate contact points touching the firstdisplay, and the locations of the separate contact points, to identifythe specific geometric disposition.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein tobe oriented in the operable position, the first display and the seconddisplay are substantially parallel and the second display overlaps atleast a portion of the first display.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinsending at least a portion of the electronic visual image to theenhancer display device comprises: cropping the electronic visual imagebased on the spatial orientation between the first display device andthe enhancer display device, such that the cropped image, if displayedin the enhancer display device, would correspond to the portion of theelectronic visual image on the first display that is directly overlaidby the enhancer display device; and sending the cropped electronicvisual image to the enhancer display device for display.
 8. The methodof claim 1, wherein sending at least a portion of the electronic visualimage to the enhancer display device comprises: sending both theelectronic visual image and information relating to the spatialorientation to the enhancer display device, such that the enhancerdisplay device can determine a relevant portion of the electronic visualimage to display that corresponds to a portion of the electronic visualimage on the first display that is directly overlaid by the enhancerdisplay device.